June 22, 2024

The thrill of high-speed competition returned to Dawsonville, Georgia as the Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP) Championship Series reached its highly anticipated Round 4. Known for its challenging two-mile road circuit designed by Formula 1 architect Hermann Tilke, AMP provides a unique stage for both seasoned racers and emerging talents to showcase their skills. This race was filled with all kinds of excitement, from high intensity racing to one of the most harrowing events ever seen at Atlanta Motorsports Park.

The green flag fell for the first heat race of the day. Chris Hunn (53) would lead the fourteen-car field of Radical Race Cars. The no. 67 SR10 of James Long would jump out to an early lead, passing 3 cars in the carousel on the first lap. The second lap would see a change in the lead as Hunn would pass Long in the first corner to begin the lap.

Lap 3 would be the ultimate game changer in this competition. As the no. 67 SR10 entered the tenth corner, he would experience a mechanical issue. The car would struggle to climb the hill to Turn 11. Greg Folger in the no. 29 car and Blake Fabiani in the 85 would attempt a double pass. As both cars began to pass the 67 of Long, the car would backfire heavily. This resulted in flames shooting out the back of the car.

Long would navigate his 67 machine off of the track just into the grass entering Turn 13. The flames continued to build on the right side of Long’s SR10. Long would exit the vehicle as the flames and smoke continued to build. Rescue teams would be deployed and the red flag would be displayed.

The safety team would extinguish the flames very quickly and begin the lengthy process of cleaning up the track. The first race would end under red with Chris Hunn leading as the flag was displayed. Hunn would lead off the second round of Downforce races on the pole.

The start of race two was smooth, with all drivers navigating the first corner clean. Greg Folger (29) would reach 140 mph through the frontstretch to take the lead from Hunn. Farther back in the field, the 03 of William Robinson would battle the 97 of Evan Lowrey. For those that have followed the series all year, Lowrey was involved in a multi-car pileup in Round 2 of the Championship Series. Lowrey had some damage to his Radical Racecar from that incident and had to take some time to fix his car.

By lap five, Folger and Hunn would have a sizeable lead over the 86 of David Mason. At the halfway point in the season. Folger would turn the fastest lap of the race on lap seven with a time of 1:20.856.

Your K&M BBQ Midway Top 5: Folger, Huhn, Mason, Fabiani and Pearson (418).

Midway through the pack, Jose Aveilez (92), Will Franklin (96), and the 97 of Evan Lowery would battle for the podium in the SR1 division. Aveilez would lead the pack into turn 6. Lowery would attempt a double pass into turn 7 but only managed to overtake the 96 of Franklin. Franklin would be the victor of this particular battle after making a double pass in Turn 2 to secure the last spot on the podium in the SR1 division.

Folger would continue his dominance and fend off Huhn for the remainder of the race. The top three finishers were Folger, Huhn, and Mason. You can find the full results on RaceMonitor.